Assessing Impact of Weight on Quality of Life

This paper is a preliminary report on the development of a new instrument, the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life (IWQOL) questionnaire, that assesses the effects of weight on various areas of life. We conducted two studies utilizing subjects in treatment for obesity at Duke University Diet and Fitness Center. The first study describes item development, assesses reliability, and compares pre- and post-treatment scores on the IWQOL. In the second study we examined the effects of body mass index (BMI), gender, and age on subjects' perceptions of impact of weight on quality of life. Results indicate adequate psychometric properties with test-retest reliabilities averaging .75 for single items, and .89 for scales. Scale internal consistency averaged .87. Post-treatment scores differed significantly from pre-treatment scores on all scales, indicating that treatment produced positive changes in impact of weight on quality of life. The results of the second study indicate that the impact of weight generally worsened as the patients' size increased. However for women there was no association between BMI and impact of weight on Self-Esteem and Sexual Life. Even at the lowest BMI tertile studied, women reported that weight had a substantial impact in these areas. There were also significant gender differences, with women showing greater impact of weight on Self-Esteem and Sexual Life compared with men. The impact of age was a bit surprising, with some areas showing positive changes and others showing no change.     

Experimental test of a trade‐off between moult and immune response in house sparrows Passer domesticus

A trade‐off between immune system and moulting is predicted in birds, given that both functions compete for resources. However, it is unclear whether such a trade‐off exists during post‐breeding moult. This study tests such a trade‐off in the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). Males injected with an antigen (lipopolysaccharide) significantly moulted slower than sham‐injected males. Moreover, males whose seventh primaries were plucked to simulate moult showed smaller immune response to phytohaemagglutinin than control males, in which seventh primaries were clipped. A trade‐off between moult speed and body mass was also found. The results show a clear trade‐off between moult and immune response in the house sparrow: immune response negatively affected moult and moult negatively affected immune response. These findings suggest that only individuals in good condition may have an efficient moult and simultaneously respond effectively in terms of immunity to pathogens, which could explain how plumage traits honestly indicate parasite resistance in birds.     

Livestock production,age, and gender among the Keiyo of Kenya

This article is based on a study of time allocation and decision making patterns among the Keiyo in three ecological zones of Elgeyo-Marakvet District, Kenya. It finds that age and gender are important factors to consider when examining livestock production among African smallholder farmers. This is especially true where males are absent from home for wage labor. In these situations women, young males between the ages of 6–15, and persons of both sexes aged 65 and over spend considerable amounts of time engaged in livestock-related activities. These women are also more actively involved in decision making concerning the marketing of milk. The results indicate that there is a definite need to consider the contributions of these other persons when efforts are being made to improve elements of the livestock sector.     

Age and gender related changes in hematological parameters of thoroughbred foals

Abstract

Hematological and biochemical profiles commonly are required in equine medicine. We studied hematological parameters including red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (PCV), differential leukocyte counts, mean cell volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in thoroughbred foals at different ages and for both sexes. Sixty healthy thoroughbred foals, 1 day, 3 days and 1 year old were used. Each age group consisted of 10 male and 10 female animals. We found significant differences related to age in RBC values of females, PCV, MCV values of males, WBC, neutrophil percentages, lymphocyte percentages, monocyte percentages of females, and eosinophil percentages and basophil percentages. Significant differences related to gender were found only with regard to PCV at 1 year and WBC at 1 day. The hematological parameters of thoroughbred foals up to one year old may be useful for evaluating and monitoring the health of these animals.     

年龄对小家鼠筑巢的影响

为研究不同年龄组小家鼠筑巢能力的差异,分别采用24-h等级法和连续4d巢材获取重量法,对幼年组、亚成年组、成年组小家鼠筑巢能力进行了测定。结果表明:1)小家鼠在亚成年期已具备较强的筑巢能力;2)成年组与亚成年组小家鼠能够快速完成筑巢,24h即可筑成稳定的杯状巢,而幼年组未能筑成稳定巢;3)小家鼠雄性与雌性筑巢能力相当;4)连续4d巢材获取重量表现为成年组>亚成年组,这与两组间身体大小有关,而4d后两组间筑巢等级无显著差异。研究结果提示,不同年龄组的小家鼠均有较强的筑巢需求,筑巢能力基本形成于亚成年期。     

赤眼蜂生物学与繁殖技术研究及应用——广东省生物资源应用研究所(原广东省昆虫研究所)赤眼蜂研究50年

本文介绍了广东省生物资源应用研究所(原广东省昆虫研究所)50多年来有关赤眼蜂生物学与繁殖技术及应用研究工作。内容包括赤眼蜂种质资源挖掘、寄生生态学、药剂敏感性、滞育贮存和体外培育技术等应用基础研究。研究的赤眼蜂近20种(品系),重点研究了使用范围广的松毛虫赤眼蜂、拟澳洲赤眼蜂、广赤眼蜂以及可用米蛾卵繁殖并对南方水稻、甘蔗和玉米等作物螟虫有较好防控效果的稻螟赤眼蜂、欧洲玉米螟赤眼蜂和亚洲玉米螟赤眼蜂。     

Boundary Questionnaire Results in the Mentally Healthy Elderly

The Hartmann Boundary Questionnaire was administered twice, with six months in between, to 61 Swiss subjects over 60 years of age taking part in an investigation into the effects of dream-telling on five variables: well-being, sleep quality, sleep duration, dream recall and dream tone. In addition, dream epoch, i.e., the age of life of the dreamer as perceived in the dream, was recorded for those who told dreams. In addition to this study group in which the members told dreams there were two control groups. Those in the first control group were asked about well-being and sleep quality but not about dreams or dreaming, while those in the second control group were additionally asked how many dreams they had retained, how frequently they had occurred and about the dream tone (pleasant/unpleasant). All study participants were given the Hartmann Boundary Questionnaire at the beginning (pre-test) and again at the end of the six month study period (post-test). The retest reliability was high (r = 0.872 for the whole sample). We report here the relationships obtained between the questionnaire scores and age, group membership, gender and the number of dreams that were retained over a 26 week testing period. No significant correlations were found for age, group membership or dream recall. There was, however, a small, significant boundary score difference between women and men for the pre-test, indicating thinner boundaries for women, but this difference was no longer significant in the post-test.     

山东古代居民骨化甲状软骨的观测

本文以山东地区6处考古遗址出土的18例古代居民的骨化甲状软骨为研究材料,结合现代医学和法医学的研究,通过对甲状软骨骨化情况的观察分析以及部分数据测量,发现古代居民中骨化甲状软骨多保存骨板下缘、下结节以及上下角,而且骨化甲状软骨对古代居民性别和年龄的判断有一定指示作用。甲状软骨在骨化程度、进展速度以及骨化机制上存在性别差异,古代居民中男性比女性更容易保存骨化甲状软骨,且男性多见保存联合部中下段,女性并无个体保存联合部。另外在本文的骨化甲状软骨的两项测量数据上,男性明显大于女性。甲状软骨的骨化个体间差异很大,单独使用甲状软骨骨化规律进行年龄判断并不可取,但可作为一种参考依据来辅助判断。值得注意的是,保存有骨化甲状软骨且年龄明确的古代居民皆大于30岁。     

太行山猕猴颅骨变量的波动不对称性

探讨了太行山猕猴Macaca mulatta颅骨变量波动不对称特征及影响因素。猕猴颅骨标本62例(♀43,♂19),按性别和年龄分组。选择颅骨两侧对称的24个变量,转换为标准波动不对称值(FA)。数据用SPSS 20.0进行处理。结果显示:大部分颅骨变量的FA值在性别组间和年龄组间没有统计学差异(P>0.05);不同变量的FA值大小不同;FA值的变化趋势是雌性大于雄性,亚成体组大于成体组。结果提示猕猴颅骨波动不对称特征可能与它们的肢骨不对称特征不同,可能在某种程度上反映了猕猴的生长发育及环境刺激对不对称的影响。     

Leukocyte telomeres are longer in African Americans than in whites: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study and the Bogalusa Heart Study

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is ostensibly a bio-indicator of human aging. Here we report that African Americans have longer LTL than whites. We studied cross-sectionally 2453 individuals from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Family Heart Study (age = 30–93 years) and the Bogalusa Heart Study (age = 19–37 years), comprising 1742 whites and 711 African Americans. We measured LTL by Southern blots of the terminal restriction fragments length. In 234 participants, telomere repeats were also measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Adjusted for age and body mass index (BMI), the respective leukocyte telomere lengths (mean ± SEM) were considerably longer in African Americans than in whites both in the Family Heart Study (7.004 ± 0.033 kb vs. 6.735 ± 0.024 kb, p  < 0.0001) and the Bogalusa Heart Study (7.923 ± 0.063 kb vs. 7.296 ± 0.039 kb, p  < 0.0001). We confirmed the racial effect on LTL by qPCR (3.038 ± 0.565 T/S units for African Americans vs. 2.714 ± 0.487 T/S units for whites, p  < 0.001). Cross-sectionally, sex- and BMI-adjusted LTL became shorter with age (range 19–93 years) at a steeper slope in African Americans than in whites (0.029 kb year⁻¹ vs. 0.020 kb year⁻¹, respectively, p  = 0.0001). We suggest that racial difference in LTL arises from a host of interacting biological factors, including replication rates of hematopoietic stem cells.     

Selected ion monitoring for rapid differentiation of mycobacteria isolated from domestic animals

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry adapted for selected ion monitoring was used to detect C₃₂ mycocerosic acid in short-term incubated cultures of procineand canine strains of mycobacteria. The method can be employed for rapid differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from M. avium-intracellulare.